Interesting facts:
- In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.”
- Little Richard was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986
- From the time he began with Specialty on September 13, 1955 until he left in October, 1957 Richard would record fifty songs, including alternate takes. From this wealth of material Specialty would release 9 singles and two albums.
Historical analysis:
"Little Richard", was born on December 5, 1935 as Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon Georgia. He was one of the most popular artists of the 1950's. He used the keyboard to create music, rather than the piano or electric guitar. As a child, he was a gospel singer so that reflected a lot into his music. In his music he wailed, moaned, and screamed crazy lyrics; such as "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom," from his song "Tutti Frutti" in 1955. He was a rich man and used his money well. He even sold his rights of "Tutti" in 1955 for only $50 but still earned enough to carry around a trunk-load of cash in his car and let needs friends help themselves. Little Richard was known for his wide-open personality. Always being the showman that he was, he cultivated a bizarre image by wearing mascara and a six-inch pompadour. When someone asked Little Richard about his music and what it was like to perform onstage, he replied "That piano was talkin' and the drums was walkin' and it made my big toe shoot up in my boot!" Little Richard's music, as well as other artists of the time, provided high energetic, music filled with a lot of back beats and switching of tones. The rolling success of the rock and roll industry came to close late in the decade when rock suffered a crisis of artists moving on with their lives. It started in 1957 with Little Richard enrolled in Bible college, followed by Elvis getting drafted into the US Army in March of 1958. And it only got worse from there.
- In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.”
- Little Richard was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986
- From the time he began with Specialty on September 13, 1955 until he left in October, 1957 Richard would record fifty songs, including alternate takes. From this wealth of material Specialty would release 9 singles and two albums.
Historical analysis:
"Little Richard", was born on December 5, 1935 as Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon Georgia. He was one of the most popular artists of the 1950's. He used the keyboard to create music, rather than the piano or electric guitar. As a child, he was a gospel singer so that reflected a lot into his music. In his music he wailed, moaned, and screamed crazy lyrics; such as "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom," from his song "Tutti Frutti" in 1955. He was a rich man and used his money well. He even sold his rights of "Tutti" in 1955 for only $50 but still earned enough to carry around a trunk-load of cash in his car and let needs friends help themselves. Little Richard was known for his wide-open personality. Always being the showman that he was, he cultivated a bizarre image by wearing mascara and a six-inch pompadour. When someone asked Little Richard about his music and what it was like to perform onstage, he replied "That piano was talkin' and the drums was walkin' and it made my big toe shoot up in my boot!" Little Richard's music, as well as other artists of the time, provided high energetic, music filled with a lot of back beats and switching of tones. The rolling success of the rock and roll industry came to close late in the decade when rock suffered a crisis of artists moving on with their lives. It started in 1957 with Little Richard enrolled in Bible college, followed by Elvis getting drafted into the US Army in March of 1958. And it only got worse from there.
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